Microsoft is chasing Apple with new principles
Various protagonists in the tech world are at odds with each other. There are even organizations that have joined forces against Apple and Google. Microsoft is also not happy with Apple and has therefore revealed new principles for its app store.
Apple’s 30 percent
It started in the middle of summer with Epic and Apple. Two companies that got into trouble because Apple believed that Epic should not have a payment system within its Fortnite app without paying 30 percent of this to Apple. Epic disagreed and pushed its own payment system through. Apple? That in turn threw the hugely popular game Fortnite out of that app store.
Those aren’t the only things that aren’t going well between Apple and major game and tech companies. For example, Microsoft and Facebook have already spoken out against the way in which Apple deals with other game streaming services. At first they were not allowed at all, but now they are. However, there are so many hooks and eyes – including the obligation to create a separate page for each game – that Microsoft has decided to make it clear to Apple in new ways that it does not agree with that policy.
The principles of Microsoft
The IT company does this by coming up with 10 principles for its own Windows 10 app store . Those principles tie in so well with those of Apple, but the opposite, that Microsoft is already abundantly clear without mentioning the company. For example, it promises that developers can choose whether they put Windows apps in the Microsoft Store or rather make them available via their own app. In addition, it will not block apps based on this choice. It also does not block apps based on which payment system has been chosen.
In addition, Microsoft is very explicit in mentioning how open it is to alternative app stores. Microsoft acknowledges that those exist and that there are popular alternatives to Windows 10 anyway. There is also attention for the prices that Microsoft charges developers: in contrast to the standard 30 percent that Apple asks, Microsoft says it wants to charge a reasonable amount to developers who put their app in the Microsoft App Store.
Coalition for App Fairness
It is clear that Microsoft is targeting Apple. In fact, it has based its principles on the work of the Coalition for App Fairness, a group made up of large tech companies who want to do something together against Apple’s power. Spotify, Epic and Basecamp, among others, are members of this group, which has already written an urgent letter to Apple about its App Store practices. Apple has not yet given an official response to it all, and it remains to be seen whether it will. After all, it is now very busy with the launch of the new iPhone .